Georgia: PM Kobakhidze rejects foreign influence and warns of "Ukraine-like scenario"

Georgia is at the centre of a political debate after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze accused foreign intelligence services of financing the protests. He says the demonstrations have similar origins to Ukraine's 2014 Maidan and the government will do everything possible to prevent the country from destabilising.

Warning against the Ukrainian scenario

Kobachidze said in his speech that the protest movement in Georgia is financed from abroad and that a similar mechanism was behind the events in Ukraine. In his opinion, the revolution there, supported by foreign services, led to the serious destabilisation of the state and to military conflicts. Georgia must avoid such developments and protect its state institutions from outside interference.

Georgian television Imedi has published an investigation which shows that money for the protests is flowing through the University of Georgia, owned by Giuli Alasani, the mother of former President Mikheil Saakashvili. The businessman Giorgi Batshashvili, who was supposed to financially support the university, is also involved in the case. He was previously linked to Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and is currently facing a prison sentence for allegedly embezzling thousands of bitcoins.

According to allegations in the report, students involved in organizing the protests are to be paid daily. However, the opposition and some members of the public point out that the investigations presented have not yet been backed up by independent evidence.

The Foreign Agents Act and the company's response

Tensions in Georgia have also intensified with the adoption of the so-called "transparency of foreign influence" law, known as the Foreign Agents Act. The law obliges organisations and media outlets that receive more than a fifth of their funding from abroad to register as "entities under foreign influence".

According to the government, the aim of the law is to strengthen transparency and protect national sovereignty. However, critics warn that it is a tool similar to legislation used in Russia to restrict civil society and independent media. Lawyers point to a broad definition of foreign influence that could lead to abuse of power.

The protests against the law and government policy have provoked reactions from the European Union and the United States, which have expressed concern about the possible weakening of democratic institutions. At the same time, there are calls for further demonstrations by the opposition in Georgia, particularly in the context of the upcoming local elections.

The government insists the steps are necessary to protect the country from foreign interference. Prime Minister Kobakhidze has repeatedly stressed that the Ukrainian experience is a warning to Georgia and that the "Maidan scenario" must not be repeated in Tbilisi.

TASS/gnews.cz - GH